Collaborative Learning for Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) Policy Development

This paper explores some ideas and experiences about ways in which higher education can contribute to NREM policy development and implementation in the Greater Mekong Subregion. The process of policy development is often misunderstood as a linear process in which problems are identified and solutions are designed and implemented by experts. An alternative view is that policy development is always a process based on a dialogue of ideas and a debate about objectives. (As policy objectives are themselves often deeply contested, debate about objectives is often as important as discussion about what policy tools should be used.) Consistent with the linear expert design model, most NREM policy activity by regional universities in the past has involved individuals from universities acting as experts and consultants, with little involvement from universities as institutions. An important question is how universities as institutions can play a greater role. A related question is how universities as teaching institutions can contribute to the policy dialogue and development of greater capacity for policy development and implementation. It is argued that learning for the policy process can profit by a collaborative and adaptive approach to learning rather than a “transfer of knowledge model”. Discussion draws on several international examples and, in particular, from the Mekong Learning Initiative, a collaborative learning activity involving several universities in the region as well as the Australian Mekong Resource Centre as an international partner